A Bite of Love

16. A Bad Ingredient

"Hi, Ou Yang, how is it going with Mu Ran?"

"Keep it quiet, Ge Lin! They will misunderstand," Ou Yang said with a frown. What was the chance though, the woman he was chasing thought he was gay?!

"Oh, still in denial," she rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically, "well, you may want to be fast because there is a predator in the area."

"Ha?" Ou Yang didn't understand the hint, being too busy thinking how the tables turned like that.

"Well, you will see," Ge Lin said mysteriously before she moved towards a table.

Behind her, Ou Yang sighed in frustration. Although he was chasing her, sometimes she was too overwhelming unlike Mu Ran.

WAIT! What the hell am I thinking?!

Okay, now he was more frustrated and it was only ten am.

Even though Ou Yang chose not to dwell on Ge Lin's words, the words appeared in the form of a real person. At one pm, Ou Yang watched in awe as Mu Ran entered the cafe with a handsome man, smiling brightly.

"Hey."

"Who is he?" Ou Yang jumped to the important matters, passing the greeting part.

"He is Rao Feng, a... friend." The answer was hesitant, so Ou Yang didn't like it.

"A close one... soon," the man added with an allusive smile and Mu Ran averted his gaze before pulling Rao Feng towards his usual table.

Ou Yang didn't like the man at all and consequently, didn't want to serve him. However, leaving him with Mu Ran was out of question, so he sucked it up and approached the table with a fake smile plastered on his face.

"What would you like?" A punch?

"Hmm, Americano, how about you?"

"I know what he wants," Ou Yang cut him sharp with an all-knowing smile and Mu Ran almost choked on his saliva. 1-0, he murmured and went to prepare the drinks.

Two hours! They sat there, flirting under Ou Yang's piercing gaze. There was no reason at all for Ou Yang's hostility towards the man, but he couldn't help it. Rao Feng didn't give a nice vibe and he felt responsible for protecting Mu Ran.

As Ou Yang's full attention was on them, including his ears, when the annoying man asked Mu Ran to go clubbing, he jumped into the conversation.

"He can't."

"Can't you?" Rao Feng arched his eyebrows and stared at Mu Ran for his answer.

"I..."

"Did you forget about our arrangement?" Ou Yang saved Mu Ran from the explanation.

"The arrangement," Mu Ran repeated slowly before nodding. He wouldn't do anything to embarrass Ou Yang in front of a third-party.

"When is it?" Rao Feng insisted, highly reluctant to let such a beauty go before a taste.

"Nine," Ou Yang said coldly, leaving no door for clubbing.

"Then we have time for a quick drink," Rao Feng smiled triumphantly, "see you at seven thirty at XX bar, bye love," he said and left before Ou Yang could object.

"Call him and say you can't go," Ou Yang demanded angrily.

"Why is that?" Mu Ran folded his arms on his chest, defensively. As Rao Feng had already left, he didn't have to hold in.

"I don't want you to go, he looks suspicious."

"And who are you? My boyfriend or my father?" Mu Ran asked, fuming. While he was trying to get over Ou Yang, he was digging his way into his life again.

Suddenly, Ou Yang noticed that he was really acting like a jealous boyfriend. He had no right to meddle with Mu Ran's love life. He was just a friend... The word left a bitter taste in his mouth, even without being spoken. Why, though? He was certainly a straight man, so why was he that heated up?

"I am still waiting for an answer," Mu Ran declared impatiently.

"I am sorry, Ran Ran," the confused man apologised, "I have no right to tell you what to do."

His words shocked Mu Ran prominently. His defence dropped with the sight of Ou Yang's flabbergasted face. "It is okay," he said with a nicer tone, "so will I still see you at nine?"

"Ha? Ha! Yes yes... I will collect you from XX at nine."

"Okay, see you," Mu Ran uttered as he moved towards the door, but halted half way through as he remembered something. "We forgot to pay."

Ou Yang's confusion left its place to anger again, that cheap bastard, he said inwardly, his hands clenched into fists. "Just go, it is on the house," he said in between his gritted teeth as he wouldn't let Mu Ran pay for that leech.

After Mu Ran left, Ou Yang devoted all his attention to work so that the hours would pass quickly. When it was finally seven, he left the cafe to Li Rang and drove to XX bar. Parking the car where he could see the entrance, he waited for them to come.

Luckily, this time he didn't need to wait for a long time. He saw Mu Ran arrive first and stood at the entrance. That bastard didn't even give him a ride and had the audacity to make Ran Ran wait, he said inwardly, his eyes on his watch to count the minutes. If Rao Feng didn't arrive in five minutes, then he would snatch Mu Ran away.

Unluckily, Rao Feng arrived before five minutes were up and led Mu Ran inside. Thinking about Mu Ran's safety, Ou Yang also followed them inside and sat on a table where he could see them.

One and half hours... he murmured, only one and half hours to go.